Project Management Happy Hour

We all assume that following process, better data and improved maturity will fix all our PM issues. That make sense, but is it true? What does the data say?

This was our question last fall going into PMO Symposium. Then we realized, we'd be surrounded by hundreds of amazing Project and PMO leaders who could help us understand this better! So, we engaged with 65+ Project and PMO leaders to collect data measuring different aspects of project success, what processes & tools they used (or didn't) and what data they used. Some of the answers were just as you may expect - but a number of them were really surprising!

In this episode, we walk through the findings of that study.

CHECK OUT A VIDEO…

We also recorded a video version of this podcast so you can see the graphics - check it out here

You can also download a copy of the presentation, here.

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

Today we are joined by Rolondo Talbott who gave an amazing presentation at this year's PMO Symposium. He is going to share with us an amazing story from his time in the military which inspired him to come up with the concept of Entrepreneurial Project Management. If you've heard about us contrasting "box checker" PM's with being the CEO of your project, Rolondo takes it to a whole new level. With this approach, we look past the obvious or even stated goals of our project and engage at a deeper level to drive value. If you have stakeholders (and who doesn't!) you won't want to miss this one.

ABOUT OUR GUEST, ROLONDO TALBOTT

Rolondo Talbott, director of project management at Pomona College, joined the IT senior management team where he builds, leads, and operates project management for IT. Rolondo is a UCLA graduate and Los Angeles native who is also a 10-year veteran of the United States Air Force. His most recent position was working for NBC Universal, and he now lives with his family in Claremont, CA, USA.

He is also a published author who has written everything from screenplays to parenting related articles which are found in a variety of online and print magazines. He is also the author of the Children's Book Series, "Uniquely ME" and was named by Disney's as, "One of New Picture Books Your Kids Will Beg You to Read Over and Over". When he is not writing, he is helping teams across various industries go from "Great to Legendary" using a variety of certified team building techniques. He also is passionate about helping veterans secure jobs, and volunteers by offering them résumé critiques and job-search strategies.

To contact Rolondo or read some of his many articles and books...

Linkedin.com/in/rolondotalbott (Various articles on Management)

Pomona.edu/pmo

Evolllution.com/author/Rolondo-talbott (Understanding and Achieving Consensus: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid)

https://www.cioreview.com/cxoinsight/the-key-to-project-success-nid-27443-cid-63.html (The Key to Project Success)

Parenting Blogging

https://www.babble.com/contributor/rtalbott/ (Disney's Parenting Website)

https://www.babble.com/entertainment/picture-books/ (Uniquely ME, Book #31)

Children's Book Series: Uniquely ME (Various Versions)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071Z974ZY/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_hYnvCbPR4FH5X

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

In today's world we are bombarded with more information than ever before - it's on our mobile devices (social email, etc.), daily stand-ups, 24 hour news networks telling us about how the world is collapsing every day, so much going on.

That's a lot of information coming in - so how do you sort through it? With that much information coming in and going out, it can be hard to really feel like we are on top of our projects. Especially in two circumstances:

1. We have a large number of projects we are managing at the same time
2. We have a very long duration project, and need to be able to look ahead and look back

So, how do you find a 'quiet space' where you can actually think and plan?

In this episode, we talk about keeping a Project Diary. A diary or a log of your project can be a great way for you to sort through your thoughts and challenges on a project, and maybe even a way to provide a higher degree of transparency into your project to your stakeholders. Project Diary, Project Log, Project Blog, Project Vlog - we got you covered. Check it out!

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

A natural stage in PM professional development is when you become the 'fixer' - the one called in to take over or fix 'broken' critical projects. This is hard, stressful work, and you may wonder why you get (or keep getting) the 'dirty' jobs. But these assignments mean your management team has a lot of confidence in you. Embrace it!

In this episode, Kate and Kim talk through how to approach taking over broken projects, and take you step-by-step through the remediation process. Kate and Kim share their experiences, tips and survival strategies to get you through alive.

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

A defining characteristic of a project is that it ends. Finally. Just finish it, right? If it were only that easy!

This episode Kate and Kim talk about what it means to close a project, and walk through some typical scenarios where closing can be really tough, and then share some practical tips on how to get to done.

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

Have you ever had to justify the value of Project Management in your organization? Doh! So do we. Listen in as we share our best responses to, "is PM really needed?"

You don't have to justify the existence of the Finance team. Or Sales & Marketing. Or Executive Management. So why do we have to justify the existence of Project Management? This week we explore this question and share some of our favorite responses to help educate our stakeholders and show the value of what we do.

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

Many companies employ personality assessments to help their team members understand their strengths or communication styles. Are these a waste of time? Or do they have value we can leverage as PMs?

Today we are joined by Fai Mo, long time project manager and manager of project managers. Fai will share his experience in leveraging one type of assessment, Strengthfinders, and how he helps his team leverage this tool to improve their management skills.

ABOUT OUR AMAZING GUEST, FAI MO

Fai Mo is an accomplished project management and technology leader with a background in business and technology consulting. Additionally, Fai has led teams and programs in several industries including financial

services, utilities and education. Fai loves to grow and develop project managers using various techniques including the one in today's podcast. You can find Fai's professional profile on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/in/fai-mo

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

As we gorge on our kid's leftover Halloween candy, we answer a number of Listener questions left on our Facebook and Linkedin pages.

• What are some good ways to describe PM-ish duties on a resume/CV?
• What are some tips on holding someone accountable?
• How do you create a timeline for a project with a new technology you don't know about?
• When and how do you call out a team member who is not doing their job?
• What are some tips on working with an external IT vendor PM?
• And more!

Got your own questions you wish we'd covered? It's not too late! Hit us up on facebook at /pmhappyhour today

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

"What are we even doing in this project?"

If you've ever asked yourself (or been asked) this question, go back to your Project Charter right now! The Project Charter is a keystone project artifact, authorizing the very existing and base assumptions and structure of your project. It can be called many things - a statement of work, a project initiation document - but whatever, if you don't have some kind of document that authorizes your project, you may be in trouble!

In this episode we talk about charters, what they are, what should be in them - and what doesn't need to be in there.

MEMBER ONLY BONUS CONTENT - DOWNLOAD ONE OF OUR CHARTER TEMPLATES!

Members can log in and go to https://pmhappyhour.com/resources/ to download our Project Charter templates! We have a long format and a short format template. The long format comes with instructions and example text to get you started.

MEMBER ONLY BONUS CONTENT II - EXTENDED WALK-THROUGH

The course for this podcast includes a special 20+ minute extended walk-through of our charter templates to make sure you get your charter off on the right foot.

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.

This episode we are joined at Happy Hour by prominent PM thought leader, Naomi Caetti. We chat with Naomi about what it takes to transition from being "just" a Project Manager to a Leader - both for your project and your organization. Check out this episode to learn how to take your game to the next level!

OUR AMAZING GUEST NAOMI CAIETTI

Naomi Caietti is an award-winning business woman, widely respected global virtual thought leader in the project management community for over 25 years, and an honoree of the 2017 #CelebratingWomen Project from Dr. Kirstin Ferguson. In 2014, Naomi founded her consulting company to meet virtual on demand business needs as a speaker, author and consultant.

Naomi has been featured in national and international media//publications including the Project Management Institute, ProjectManagement.com, Workfront.com, Employee Engagement Network, Professional Woman Network, IT Metrics and Productivity Institute and ProjectManager.com. You can find out more about her new book "Transform Your Leadership" at www.naomicaietti.com, connect with her on Linkedin and follow her on twitter at @califgirl232.

Leadership Webinar:

Naomi's webinar, "The Self Aware PM," packed with latest info for PMs who wish to "Transform from a PM to a Project Leader."

https://www.projectmanagement.com/videos/396995/PMXPO-2017--The-Self-Aware-Project-Manager

Virtual Leadership Articles by Naomi:

https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/371618/Virtual-Team-Strategies

https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/408168/Virtual-Leadership

https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/takes-virtual-pm

Press Release for Naomi's Podcast Book Tour

https://www.naomicaietti.com/uploads/1/3/8/4/13846026/press_release_for_transform_your_leadership_2018.pdf

JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR!

Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership

STUMP THE PM'S!

We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour and we'll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we'll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.